Do you believe people can actually become possessed by the devil?

[NNN0LHI]

[Walt Starr]

1. I think the term "possession" is a convenient excuse and a copout. n/t

[Melodybe]

6. I don't believe in the devil, but I do think that Bush is the anti-christ

cause no body has twisted the words of Jesus, in pursuit of greed and power, like Bush and his supporters.

[BeeBee]

2. I would have to believe in the devil first... n/t

[cynatnite]

3. Mentally insane to the point of some believing it

I don't believe in the devil.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

4. religion basher!

that's a joke of course :silly:

i voted no, i would love to see some proof for demon possession.

[SpiralHawk]

5. Depends on the Skull & the Bones

Some are submissive to dArK Ahrimanic pOwerS

[shadowknows69]

10. not necessarily the devil but otherworldly entities yes.

Let's just say I've seen some shit.

[SpiralHawk]

16. Yes, indeed.

Some shit has been seen by those who have their eyes opened.

[deacon2]

7. "The devil's greatest achievement

has been to get men not to believe in him." - I believe that's C.S. Lewis.
Sorry, but this one is just too easy. To paraphrase a popular bumper sticker:
If you don't believe in demonic possession, you haven't been paying attention!
Everytime I see Mr. Bush on television, I wonder what's tatooed on his scalp.

[Eagle_Eye]

8. I don't believe people can be possessed by the devil, but

I have seen a good number of people get drunk and loose it down a deep well. One guy trashed his whole house and was heading for his car when we modified the engine a little. He woke up in the driveway with puke all over himself. He is not the kind of people I like to be around.

[Jersey Devil]

9. I AM the devil

I have been haunting NJ for hundreds of years. If you have any questions about demonic possession please PM me since I do not discuss business in public.

[Lars39]

12. *snerk*

:D

[Beacho]

11. There are things yet to be understood

that science and observation have yet to explain. This does not mean that 'demonic' possesion is the reason for unexplained phenomena.


However, at the bottom of all, I must concur that 'anything is possible'.

" Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything."

Han Solo pretty much speaks for me on that one

[Fenris]

17. An excellent synopsis.

:toast:

[MrSlayer]

13. Of course not.

You can't be possessed by "the Devil" anymore than you can be possessed by Santa Claus. I find the very idea insulting.

[WildClarySage]

14. I think people blame a fictitious 'devil' or demons or whatever

for the sick nasty things we're actually capable of inflicting on each other. "The Devil made me do it" is too much like "My dog ate my homework"- a way for people to excuse the worst excesses we're guilty of.

OTOH, there *is* worse than demonic posession. Republican possession of the houses of government.

[VOX]

15. Mankind can be evil enough without demons, Beelzebub, etc.

But if one wants to make a case for a "devil" in a metaphorical sense, using man's worst aspects -- cruelty, hatred, war, rage, intolerance, indifference to suffering, enviousness, dishonesty, etc., then I'm okay with that concept.

It's all just another description of the Republican Party. :grr:

[sui generis]

18. there is no evil as great as the evil done by perfectly sane

people claiming to be christians in the name of christianity.

I'll take my chances with the devil - he's gotten a bad rap. The devil never sent plagues, killed firstborn children, put entire countries to the sword, man woman and child and then called it the promised land, never burned people at the stake, conducted inquisitions, or asked anyone to hate their children, parents, siblings for not being christian or for being gay.

I'll take my chances with the "devil" any damn day - I'm starting to suspect that the real test of faith is whether people can separate allegiance to god from allegiance to goodness.

[Cleita]

19. Not sure.

In my Catholic school days, I heard some exorcist stories that were supposed to be true from the nuns. However, Christians aren't the only ones who believe in spirit possession. It goes back to the Stone Age and many forms of religion, so there might be something to it.

I'm sure a lot of these cases are from mental illness, but there has to be something else there in cases that mental illness has been ruled out. The fact that this has been believed to be real from the beginning of history and in all cultures means there is something we haven't figured out yet and put to a scientific test.

[fishnfla]

20. Lets ask Charles Manson

he was into that

[TheCowsCameHome]

21. Ask Babs. She brought one into the world

[jokerman93]

22. dissociated complexes

Dissociated complexes can take on a life and intelligence of their own, and can by driven by induction by other psychic "sources". There's the devil, and then there's the devil, and then there's whatever it is we're dealing with these days here on good ol' planet earth...

Funny Story:
Exorcist III was a cool movie. I saw it with (this is no shit!) an old Indian yogi recently come to the states from his Himalayan retreat. We both jumped out of our seats at the climax of that "long empty corridor" sequence where the demon suddenly appears from an adjoining hall, propelled forward, arms out-stretched in the sign of the enterer...

He laughed out loud, turned to me and exclaimed, "That was great!"

:evilgrin:

Other than that, yeah. I've seen "stuff" too.

[fla nocount]

23. NO. There's the one source of all and then there's our silly ass

free will. There is no duality............there's just our individual reality, it will wink out when we do........silly rabbit.

[jokerman93]

24. wink wink

;-)